ABSTRACT
In Chapter 4 the focus is on changes in Polish Catholicism in the modern era: how cultural dynamism have shaped religion in Polish society in recent decades; and how institutional aspects of Catholicism have provided a context for religiosity in contemporary Polish society. Then the discussion moves to tracing how transcendence is integrated with social concerns and to what extent religious concerns shape Polish identity. A focus on the shift in social concerns after 1989, when Poland embarked upon a path of political and economic transition, elucidates the direct relationship of Poles to transcendence. I describe in detail how religious rituals in modern Polish Catholicism may be seen as the performative dimension of religious identity, and in this context, I mention some continuities with traditional religiosity. An important part of this section is the characterization of modern Polish Catholicism from the perspective of agency. For instance, attention is devoted to new religious movements and associated phenomena. Other key questions in this chapter are: what changes can be observed in the religious values of believers and clergy; and how has it happened that, at the beginning of the 21st century, Catholicism still strongly influences Polish society?
